Sparta Prague to Face Liverpool in Last 16 of Europa League

Sparta Prague are to meet Liverpool in the Europa League last 16 after the draw took place on Friday morning, following the final matches of the play-off round.

Jurgen Klopp‘s side earned their place in the last 16 having finished top of their group by a single point, leaving Toulouse, Union SG, and LASK to occupy the spots below them.

This will be the second time the two sides have faced one another in the Europa League, with their last tie in 2011 seeing the Reds emerge as 1-0 victors, on aggregate, in the round of 32.

Slavia Prague has been pitted instead against AC Milan.

Milan booked their place in the next round of the competition with a 5-3 aggregate win over a Rennes side who have been on a real resurgence recently, winning every game in 2024 except the first leg at San Siro.

The Rossoneri won 3-0 at home to make things seemingly a formality for the return game in Brittany, but in the end they were made to sweat a bit as they went behind three times and ended up losing 3-2.

When are the Europa League last-16 ties?

The first legs are scheduled to take place on Thursday 7 March, with the second legs on 14 March.

The final will be held at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Wednesday the 22nd of May.

What happens next?

The winners of the eight ties advance to the quarter-finals, with the draw for that round and the semi-finals scheduled for 15 March. The losers are out of 2023/24 European competition.

Last 16 Draw in full

Sparta Prague v Liverpool

Marseille v Villarreal

Roma v Brighton & Hove Albion

Benfica v Rangers

Freiburg v West Ham United

Sporting Lisbon v Atalanta

AC Milan v Slavia Prague

Qarabag v Bayer Leverkusen